Wake-up call on need to protect, preserve Johns Island

Robert Behre's recent article on the removal of vegetative buffers at Fenwick Hall Plantation on Johns Island is truly a "cautionary tale" for everyone concerned about the future of Johns Island.

The circa 1740 Georgian style Fenwick Hall plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as one of South Carolina's most important 18th century properties. It once encompassed 4,500 acres along the Stono River and included a 3.5-mile race track for the famed Fenwick Stud. During the Revolutionary War, British commander Sir Henry Clinton occupied the house and grounds as his headquarters during the siege of Charleston in 1780. This occupation caused the plantation to be called Head Quarters throughout the 19th century.

During the Civil War, Confederate troops moved down Ferry Road, now River Road, near Fenwick Hall in June of 1862 to attack the USS Marblehead, a Union gunboat anchored on the Stono River near Legareville. Popular tradition maintains that the house was relatively undamaged because it was used as a field hospital by both armies at different times.

In the years following the Civil War, most of the original 4,500 acres were sold by subsequent owners. The current owners, who purchased the property in 2000, are committed to painstakingly restoring the plantation house and protecting its 55 remaining acres from the encroachment of development. Unfortunately, their time, energy and resources are being diverted from their restoration efforts to address legal issues with Portrait Homes, Inc. This multi-state corporation based in Chicago is currently developing the adjacent lands called The Commons at Fenwick Hall.

The legal issues originate from a 2002 memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the original developer (Winston Carlyle Co.), the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), and the State Historic Preservation Office.

This memorandum of agreement is a written agreement between governmental agencies defining how the agencies will take into account and mitigate the effects of a proposed project on the affected historic property. As the successor to the original developer, Portrait Homes was required to comply with the agreement.

The most critical element of the MOA is the requirement stating that "visually opaque (year round) vegetative buffers shall be maintained." These opaque buffers provide the natural screening that ensures Fenwick Hall maintains its historic setting and character. A primary tenet of the MOA was violated by the removal of trees, shrubs and natural undergrowth. Vistas from Fenwick Hall now include a subdivision with cul-de-sacs and multiple residential buildings.

Replanting the opaque buffers will involve considerable expense as it requires replacing large trees and shrubs. The property owners should not be expected to settle for small trees and told to wait 20 years until they mature,

The OCRM placed a stop-work order on the project in October 2007, which is to remain in effect until Portrait Homes complies with the MOA and resolves stormwater management issues. The stop-work order was reaffirmed in January 2008.

The issues at stake go far beyond the struggles of these owners to protect the rural setting of the property. The situation at Fenwick Hall should serve as a wake-up call to all property owners who are concerned about protecting and preserving the rural character of Johns Island.

If one of the island's oldest and most significant architectural and historic landmarks is not respected by developers, it sends a clear message to other developers about property protection and legal obligations.

This attitude not only puts Fenwick Hall at risk but family farms and lands that have been owned by families for generations. They also are in danger of forever being changed.

The citizens of Johns Island are facing unprecedented pressure from developers.

The Johns Island development plan and the future of the Interstate 526 extension are pending.

Developers must be held accountable. If they are allowed to ignore government regulations and agreements designed to safeguard the unique character of the Lowcountry landscape and cultural resources, then we have failed future generations and our heritage is at risk.

Cynthia C. Jenkins is executive director of the Preservation Society of Charleston.